As far as compact luxury cars go, there is not much in the Canadian market. There is the Audi A3, BMW Series 3 and the Mercedes-Benz B class. Of these cars, only the Audi and BMW are available in the U.S., while the Acura CSX is the only car that I believe is exclusive to the Canadian market. Given the cost of gasoline hovering around $4.00 a gallon, I find this a shame that a great car like this is not available to our southern neighbors.
We initially went to the Acura dealer to look at the new TSX. We were very disappointed at the bulkyness of the car and how dark the interior was, and there were waayyy too many buttons and gee-gaws. Too bad as the older TSX was a nice driver's car. Céline was not interested in the Lexus IS250 or the BMW 323 because they were RWD, and the Saab 9-3 was way overpriced (at least 250 more per month on a lease). Audi A4 only comes in Quattro trim and is at the end of its model life and was also ridiculously overpriced in Canada (surprisingly a lot of them on the road).
So she liked the CSX, and took a test drive and fell in love with the car. Also there was a lease rate promotion, and the dealer was very willing to make a deal on the car even though they had to exchange to get the color combo Céline wanted.
As I have discovered, this car is MUCH more than a gussied-up Civic, and light years ahead of its forerunner, the EL.
For starters, the visual presentation of the car (hood, front fascia and lights, rear bumper and taillights, doors) are quite different and giving a longer and lower look than the Civic. The paint and finish is also much more upscale (see my previous post). According to this Wikipedia article, the design was undertaken by Honda Canada and was actually adopted for the JDM Civic. So this design actually came first and was subsequently adopted for the lower range car.
The interior is also considerably more upscale and very impressive. The quality, fit and finish to my eyes is much better than the Audi A3 and M-B B200 (surprisingly cheap-o for the price), and on par with BMW 323 or M-B C 230. Switchgear is also typically Honda feel-good. The very comfortable heated leather seats (standard) are also surprisingly high quality for this type of car, with good thigh support and generous side bolsters. Other nice luxury touches include climate control and an uprated sound system. In all, you really do not feel like you are sitting in a Honda Civic.
Mechanically, this car is also quite different from its Honda cousin. This is the same engine that was in the outgoing RSX coupe (2 L, 155 HP iVTEC). Céline opted for the 5 speed automatic, which comes with standard paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel. The car also has more sound deadening insulation, and uprated suspension components giving a slightly firmer but well damped and quieter ride when compared to its poor cousin. Considering that the top end of the Civic line is slightly more expensive than the CSX, I am surprised that there aren't more of them on the road.
On the road, the powertrain is very responsive, with barely imperceptible and nearly instantaneous shifting. The engine is typically Honda smooth and free-revving. The automatic "Sport" mode with the paddle shifters is amazingly good and a blast, much better than I expected. Since I am a bit of a die-hard manual transmission guy, I would take this car automatic without hesitation.
At first I did not like the 2 level instrument cluster and the distance of the dash and windshield (identical to the Civic), but I very quickly got used to it, and now I actually like having the big digital speedo high up. Of course this set up is clearly for aerodynamics, something that Honda is very good at (not so good at keeping the weight down).
In terms of driving dynamics, the electric steering is the best I have tried so far (none of the overshoot you get in Saturn for example), with excellent weight and road feel. Precision is not as good as my Mazda6, and the car does have a more pronounced understeer. To give a better example, my Mazda feels like an extension of my body and has telegraphic handling (think and it goes there), whereas you have to "push" the Acura to get it to do your bidding. This is also apparent in the braking, where the Mazda has a better pedal feel that is easier to modulate.
I was also a bit disappointed with the amount of road and wind noise, which is noticeably louder than the Mazda. On the other hand, engine noise is louder on the Mazda (which is far from unpleasant) and I find it a bit unfortunate that the beautiful Acura engine is barely perceptible without looking at the tachometer. On the plus side, the CSX has a significantly smaller turning radius (even with the longer wheelbase) and not quite as sensitive to crosswinds on the highway (the Mazda is downright twitchy). We are also expecting to get fairly good gas mileage...given the car is similar weight and power as the Mazda, this should be in the range of 8.5 l/100 Km (about 27 MPG) mainly in mixed highway/city driving.
I can understand the appeal this car would have to women. It coddles and is easy on the eyes with its soothing blue instrument panel lights, its creme leather, brown and grey dash offsets with just a hint of chrome accents. The glass sunroof is nice and the heated seats are very effective.
Of course this is not a fair comparison as my 6 is a base model 5 speed without the fancy extras was nearly $10K less expensive (I'm still pinching myself at what I paid for it). The Mazda6 is more of a guy's car (guys who want an Alfa Romeo or Audi A6 that is). Sure the paint is not as nice and the interior not as high quality, but it is more "business-like," as in the business of driving.
So in the end, Céline is extremely happy, especially moving up from the 2000 Focus (with now nearly 170,000 Kms on the clock). She was thinking of waiting for the 2009 Mazda6, but we were both concerned the car was going to be too big (I actually went for a 6 because it was the smallest, and lightest, of the mid-size cars). Also given that a GS Touring with leather and sunroof was about $4,000 more than the CSX, and there weren't really any color choices she liked, made the decision that much easier (also the lease deal on the CSX was hard to beat).
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